


Anonymous Verse Prompts

by LauraRoslinForever



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anonymous Verse, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-20 22:25:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14270823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LauraRoslinForever/pseuds/LauraRoslinForever
Summary: Prompt 1.) Olivia calls Regina mom instead of momma for the first time.





	1. Chapter 1

 

When it happened, Olivia had been eleven-years-old and it had been during one of the hottest summers Regina could remember. Maddie had just started taking her first steps, Roland developed a love for reading, and her husband had just gotten home from another one of the last few two-week trips to San Francisco.

The central air blasted cold air into their home as Regina listened to the musical stylings of Harry Connick Jr. She was making juice popsicles for all of them and a few of Olivia’s friends who were spending the day outside running through the sprinkler and swimming in the small pool Robin found to fit their yard. Their son, not much a fan of the girls’ combined exuberance, was upstairs in his room reading a stack of comics Robin brought home for him while he was away. And her husband was off somewhere with their youngest, venturing all around the house with Ella trailing vigilantly behind them.

Their pup, well she wasn’t much of a puppy anymore, had taken to following their baby girl wherever she went.

It started when Madelyn began to crawl. From there, Ella was by her side when Maddie wobbled on to her feet, letting her grab her fur to keep from falling, or to keep the baby from things she ought not be in - like the stairs or cupboards. There were baby gates and childproof clips, but that never deterred the dog from being by Maddie’s side.

Robin had remarked he should have named her Nana, after the dog in _Peter Pan_. Regina laughed at that because, at the time, he had said it right after Ella had parked herself in front of the fireplace and would move anytime Madelyn tried to crawl around her to get closer to the fire.

She had just finished putting the orange juice popsicles in the freezer when Robin and Maddie rounded the corner into the kitchen. He was standing behind their little girl, who was taking small steps, laughing and babbling as she did. Her blonde hair stood out against the black headband with a maroon flowered bow that matched her black polka-dot dress. Once she saw Regina, she grinned up at her with her bright, blue eyes, quickening her steps over to her while holding on to Robin’s fingers.

Regina was just about to hold out her arms for her baby girl when the back door burst open. Olivia, with her bathing suit soaked from the water outside, ran over to her and asked, “When are we having lunch?"

Reaching over, Regina wiped the locks of hair that stuck to her daughter’s face, and replied, “I ordered us all Giovanni’s a little while ago. I’ll call you girls in as soon as it’s ready.”

Her daughter’s eyes widened at the mention of her favorite lactose-free food. “Pizza, yes!” She turned and started for the door calling out, “Thanks, Mom!” over her shoulder.

_Mom._

* * *

 

The moment he heard it, Robin picked up Maddie from the floor and went over to her. He hadn’t ever heard Olivia call her _Mom_ before, and he was sure if she had while he was away, he would have heard about it. With a hand on her lower back, he murmured, “Ouch.”

She turned toward him, her lips were tipped down into a pout, and her eyes held a bit of sadness in them that probably would have shone in his eyes had their situations been reversed. “You heard it, too?”

“I did.” Slipping his hand under her tee, he rubbed her back while holding their little one in his other arm. “Perhaps it was just a one-time slip?”

Regina tilted her head to the side, giving him a look that said _oh, please_ , but it didn’t last as Maddie reached her arms out. Her small hands opening and closing, wanting her mother, and Regina smiled at her before taking her from Robin. Madelyn’s head fell softly against Regina’s shoulder, no doubt worn out from her afternoon running around the house.

Regina pat her back softly while she told him, “Sure, it’s one slip. Then two, and another, and the next thing we know she’s off in college, calling us every other weekend.”

He shook his head and tried desperately not to smile. “That’s a long way off yet, babe.”

His wife glowered at him. “Says the man who is still _Daddy_.” 

He pressed his lips together. He supposed she had a point.


	2. Chapter 2

_Prompt 2.) Regina finds out she's pregnant again which is a complete surprise and now has to tell Robin._

 

The bright New York morning in late October was crisp and cool, perfect weather for that time of year. The trees in Central Park had changed from green to brilliant reds, bright golds, and burnt orange, and their leaves scattered the ground, giving the park the look of an autumn wonderland.

Regina’s favorite time of year.

Her footsteps quickened, and her heart pounded with each footstep, her breath coming out in heavy, white puffs, a testament to the morning chill. Emma’s blonde hair whipped back and forth as she ran in front of her. Every now and then her former roommate would look back at her to smile and shake her head.

Regina would rolled her eyes, annoyed at the blonde’s amusement but kept going. So what if maybe she was a tad out of shape, she had good reason to be. With Robin traveling back and forth from San Francisco most of the summer her trips to the gym had grown less and less with work and taking care of the kids by herself. But now that he was home for awhile, she could afford the time to get back on track.

Hence, her being up before the God awful sun. If it weren’t for her former roommate she’d probably still be in bed.

Ever since Emma’s cancer and then remission, the blonde had gone into a new found health kick. Exercise and a mostly whole foods diet (she still refused to give up her weekly Red Bull and pizza), Regina enlisted Emma as her person to motivate her to get her ass up and get with the program, so to speak. Because as much as she loved her husband, he’d keep her in bed with him if he could.

Just like he tried to do that morning, but Emma’s phone call at six and her bellow into the phone to, “get your lazy ass up,” had given her that kick she needed and pulled her from her warm bed and husband’s arms.

And here she was, at seven in the morning in Central Park, jogging behind her friend wishing she and Robin had gone to bed a little earlier than they had, but the kids had gone to bed early and well, he had been in a mood. A mood that lasted a while.

“Hey slowpoke, do you need me to slow down?”

Emma’s words snapped her back to the present, and Regina picked up her pace, seeing the blonde a handful of yards ahead of her now. But then Regina sucked in a breath as her world began to shift and spun. She slowed her footsteps and ran off into the grass and came to a stop. Bending over, she braced her hands on her knees and closed her eyes. That's what she got for not eating before exercising.

Taking gulps of air, she straightened and waited for the world to right itself while watching Emma come toward her.

The blonde’s face was flushed, and her chest rose and fell as heavy as her own. A petty thought struck her, Regina was glad to see she wasn’t the only one out of breath. “Hey, lady, you alright?”

Regaining her breath and her equilibrium, she replied, “I’m fine. I’m just a little woozy.”

Emma nodded, thoughtfully. “Probably pushed yourself too hard. You wanna call it for today?”

Regina looked down at her watch. They’d only been running for thirty minutes, they planned on an hour. She hated feeling like she was giving in but seeing how she nearly tripped over her own feet, she might want to _._ “Yeah, maybe I should.”

They fell into an easy, slow step beside one another. The world was still fuzzy around the edges, keeping her from walking too fast. After a while of walking in silence, Emma must have gotten bored and elbowed her arm. “Miss that San Francisco weather?”

A breathy laugh burst from Regina. After spending three weeks there with Robin and the kids and the sixty-degree weather, God, did she ever. Still, she loved being back home, and with a gaze at the skyline said, “Only in the summer.”

“Why don’t we say screw this healthy diet thing and go get a donut?” Emma said, squinting at her as the sun came up over the city.

Regina raised a brow at her. “You sure?”

Emma let out a snort. “Hell, yeah. To be honest, today I wouldn’t have even gone on a run if you hadn’t driven all the way over here. I’d still be in bed with my smutty pirate book.”

Regina laughed. “Pirates?”

Emma gave her a look. “Hey, don’t judge. I’ve seen your worn copy of Outlander.” The blonde smirked, and asked, “Can Robin do a Scottish accent?”

Regina wasn’t one to kiss and tell, but the question had her lips pulling up into a smirk she couldn’t hide. “As a matter of fact, he can.”  She looked over at her friend and, with a chuckle, returned, “Can Killian impersonate a pirate?”

“A-R-R-R, you bet he can, matey!”

Regina laughed and held her hand up to her eyes. “Oh God, I’m sorry I asked.” Her nose scrunched thinking of them returning to the apartment and seeing Killian. “Great, now I’m going to be imagining him with an eyepatch whenever I look at him.”

Emma bumped her hip against hers, and they shared a smile.

It was only a few blocks walk to The Donut Project. They’d been there together many times throughout their friendship, mostly with Henry and Olivia in tow. A treat for the kids on the weekend after laying at the park or when they were all out shopping. They shared a fondness for it, and Regina suspected her suggestion was made as more of a sentimental trip down memory lane than anything. Then again, this was Emma Swan and the blonde probably just wanted a donut. When they stepped inside, the immediate smell of sugar, yeast, and coffee permeated the air and made Regina’s stomach growl and her mouth water. She didn’t realize she was so hungry until then.

Screw the run and the calories she burned. She wanted spiced chai and the biggest salted maple and buttered pretzel topping donut they had.

Her stomach growled again, and she placed her hand on her abdomen.

Emma looked over at her with a raised brow. “Hungry?”

Regina felt her face heat. “Tell me you didn’t hear that?”

Her friend let out a low chuckle. “Are you kidding? I was gonna ask if you wanted a bear claw to go with that growl.”

A groan spilled from her. At least Emma was the only one around. “Shut _up_.”

Emma pursed her lips in an attempt to stow her smile but failed miserably. “Calm down, no one heard you Momma bear.”

The line started to move, and not long after, they placed their orders. They were handed their donuts on tie dye plates and told their drinks would be placed on the other side of the counter when they were ready. They took seats at the two empty bar stools at the table along the window and sat facing the street.

Famished, Regina too her donut from the plate. With a happy hum, she lifted the fried bread that smelled like heaven and took a big, unladylike bite.

The salted maple hit her taste buds and she smiled at Emma’s smirk. She chewed and chewed and... paused mid-bite before swallowing it all down. There was a weird taste she didn’t remember from her favorite donut. Licking her lips, Regina took another bite. It was there again, and she shifted the contents around in her mouth through another chew, but then the tasted had her grimacing and she swallowed the bite and the taste away.

She placed the donut back on her plate and reached for a napkin while running her teeth over her tongue to scrape away any taste left behind. There was just something so… _off_ about it. It tasted like wax and after the maple faded away it was just… odd.

Emma noticed her reaction to it because her brows furrowed together, and she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Lifting the bread from its plate, she smelled it. It smelled like sugar and dough. “This glaze tastes odd.”

“Odd like what?” Emma asked, now carefully inspecting her own pastry.

“Like wax,” Regina began and took another small bite, but after a moment she shook her head and swallowed with another grimace. “Ugh, no. It’s terrible.”

Emma bit into her own, chewing thoughtfully then said, “It tastes fine to me. Go get you a new one.”

The thought of trying another one only to get the same taste made her stomach flip. She blew out a breath and shook her head. Now she was hungry and annoyed. “No, it’s fine. That killed my appetite.”

Regina rose from the chair when their beverages were called. She took a cautious sip of her chai and breathed a sigh of relief when it tasted fine. When she returned to her seat, she gazed over as Emma gave her a look.

“You sure you don’t want something else?” she asked through a mouth full of donut.

“No, I’m good.”

She looked out at the city and people enjoying their weekend as Emma ate. She took sip after sip of her warm chai wondering if the kids were up yet, and thinking of stopping at the farmers market before going home. At least she wasn’t dizzy anymore. Next time she would eat before going for a run. Her blood sugar dropping too low was the only thing she could think that would make her dizzy like she had been, but then again… Another thought hit her.

But it was stupid.

And impossible.

But for the rest of the morning, and as she left Emma’s, that same nagging _thought_ followed her, had her steps slowing as she passed the drug store on the way to the Jeep and carried her inside.

The teenage employee didn’t even raise her head from her phone as she passed by the register. Aisle after aisle Regina passed until she came to the one she wanted. Passing the feminine hygiene, the condoms, she came to a stop in front of the ovulation kits and pregnancy tests.

She stared at the cardboard boxes. Purple, blue, and pink boxes with plus and minus signs and babies stared back at her.

 _Pregnant_ , her mind whispered. God, what if she was?

 _No, I can’t be,_ she insisted to herself. She was jumping to conclusions. One dizzy spell and funky tasting donut, and she’d lost her mind.

She turned, started to walk away but paused and bit her lip. _But what if…_ with a heavy sigh, she went back and grabbed one before she could change her mind, telling herself it was only to quell the doubt she had brewing, and nothing more. It would come back negative, and then she would chalk the dizziness up to an empty stomach and her taste buds up to not being in the mood for a donut.

After Regina made her purchase, a First Response because that’s what she took when she found out Maddie was coming and she trusted its results, she strode back to the car. Once she was inside, she buried the test in the bottom of her purse. She would tell Robin, but why do that if it was all in her head? They hadn’t talked about having another baby… Well, they had, but later. Later when Maddie was in preschool and Regina’s business was more established.  

But that was still a whole year away.

During the drive home she convinced herself she’d overreacted. So when she came home to a smiling husband and happy kids just beginning to make lunch and her belly growled again, she was sure it was all a fluke. She helped slice grapes and cheese and poured cups of applesauce for her and Maddie while Robin made sandwiches for them all. All the while Regina popped grape after grape in her mouth, and picked and munched on bits of everything making Robin laugh and tell her he was going to have a word with Emma for not feeding her on her visit.

And to Regina’s amusement, her lunch tasted fine.

Perfectly normal.

She held back a sigh when she was done and picked up Maddie from her chair. Dropping kiss after kiss to her daughter’s blonde hair as she took the little girl upstairs to change, telling her between kisses, “Your Mommy is silly.”

It wasn’t until later that night when they were all winding down for the night and she took Maddie out of the tub did another wave of dizziness hit her again, and this time it packed a bit more punch than the last.

“Robin, can you come here?” she called down the hall hoping he was still in their room. She tightened her hold on her toddler and leaned against the doorframe. Taking a deep breath, she focused on Maddie’s sweet ramblings about her adventures with Ella during the day, unaware of her mother’s plight, until she heard Robin’s footsteps coming down the hall.

Maddie saw him first and called out, _Daddy!_ and Regina turned as he came to a stop in front of her. “Can you get Maddie dressed for me?”

“Sure. Come here, darling.” She must not have concealed her worry well enough because his lips pulled down as she passed him their daughter. “What’s wrong?”

He stared at her with mild concern and so she added, “I forgot I need to send off some prints and I want to do it before it gets too late.”

He tilted his head, looking like he was about to ask her something else, but she turned before he could. Making her way slowly downstairs, Regina retrieved her purse in the hall then headed back upstairs.

Closing the door to their room, she dug out the box from her purse and dropped the bag on the bed on her way to the bathroom, where she closed and locked the door.

Her hands shook as she opened the box but paused before she took it out. Should she do this with Robin? If she was pregnant, he would want to share this with her, but... what if she wasn’t? She may not think having a baby right now was the right time, but she knew he wouldn’t care. He’d be excited by the very thought, and he’d get his hopes up, and on top of her already churning emotions, if it turned out she wasn’t, it would only disappoint him and she’d just have to add guilt to the list of things she was currently feeling.

With a sigh, Regina pulled the wrapped stick from the box, and gripped it in her palm as made her way over to the toilet. Tears filled her eyes as an unsteady breath left her. She didn’t need to tell or now tell Robin to feel guilty. She already did because how could she think of baby - their baby - and not be anything but happy?

She closed her eyes to keep the tears at bay and told herself to breathe, that she was getting ahead of herself, that of course she would love their baby even if she wasn’t ready.

Forcing herself not to worry until she knew the results, even though deep down she was sure she knew what they were, Regina capped the test and set it on the back of the toilet while she finished up.

The package said three minutes, but in her experience, the results never took that long. She paced the small room for a minute but stopped and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked tired and she could feel the beginning of a headache coming on. Pushing herself away from the counter, she paced another few moments, but her patience was nonexistent

Letting out a breath, Regina went over and took the test. She swallowed the knot in her throat and held up the white plastic stick. Two lines for pregnant and one for not pregnant the box said... and she inhaled as two unmistakable bright pink lines stared up at her.

Pregnant.

 _But_ ... her mind began, she was on birth control! She missed her pill once, just _once_ in the entire time since she’d gone on them after having Madelyn. There was a time when she tracked her periods, but on the pill they had become like clockwork, except for this last month, which coincidentally had been the month she went to see Kathryn for her yearly exam. She had given her a test at the office which came back negative -which obviously was too soon- and even after that she and Robin hadn’t had sex that whole week like Kathryn told them just to be sure. Even though Robin said he didn’t care if they had another, Regina wanted a chance to plan and enjoy some more time together before they started their sleepless nights all over again.

It didn’t seem like she had much choice in the matter now.

She was pregnant.

Again.

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, looking down at the stick, wondering how this all could have happened, how her husband’s sperm managed to thwart her birth control so easily, and how she would tell him, but it must have been long enough because there was a knock on the door and then Robin’s voice calling to her.

“Babe?”

She looked up sharply, and stepping over to the counter, shoved the test and the box in the drawer with her tampons and called back, “Hang on a second.”

“Are you alright in there?”

“Yes,” she called while catching her reflection once again. She should have waited for him. Should have talked to Robin before she went and took the test because now she was angry and annoyed with herself.

“You sure?” he asked through the door. “Was it the Los Batos from last night? I’m telling you I’m still not feeling right after that burrito…”

Her nose scrunched, her own irritation at herself turned on him at that moment, making her voice rise as she replied, “God, no, Robin! I just wanted to have the bathroom to myself for ten minutes!”

There was a long pause and then his slightly abashed voice called back softly, “Alright, I’m sorry, love.”

“It’s fine,” she growled and wiped away her angry tears before she pulled open the door and marched passed him. She made her way over to her side of the bed, knowing she was stomping around and being… well, being a bit of a bitch, but she couldn’t help it. Her emotions took hold of her just as they did when she got one of her migraines, the way she had no control over her spiky mood, no matter how much she hated herself for it. Grabbing her phone from her purse, she punched the volume down on silent, and asked, “Is Madelyn asleep?”

“She is,” he confirmed from the same spot by the door he hadn’t moved from with the same gentle tone he used when she was upset or to soothe one of the kids.

And it only made her angrier.

“Good. I’m going to bed.”

* * *

 

Robin wasn’t sure what he had done, but she was pissed with him.

Mightily so.

“I’ll be downstairs with the kids until they go to bed,” he told her as gently as he could.

She pulled the blankets back and got into bed still without meeting his. “Okay.”

Robin watched her for a moment longer. Watched her turn on her side away from him without saying another word, and his shoulders sank. Well whatever had pissed her off she obviously didn’t want to talk about, so with a sigh, he left her alone.

Making his way downstairs, Robin tried to wrack his mind over the last few hours. Over what _he_ might have done to earn the cold shoulder from her, but he came up completely empty. She had been perfectly fine earlier that morning. She’d kissed him awake when she left to go for a run with Emma and then came back just as cheerful as she normally was.

The only thing odd thing he could think of was when she asked him to finish up with Maddie. And now that he thought about it, she had looked a bit pale. Perhaps that was it. She hadn’t been feeling well and still wasn’t? Another one of her migraines, maybe… but he still wasn’t sure. It’d been a long time since he was barked at by her. She wasn't so stubborn with suffering through her headaches anymore, she didn’t mind asking him to fetch her pills or water or keeping the kids out of the room or even made it a point for him to hold her through the worst of it until she fell asleep most times.

No, this was something other than that. Then again, he thought, she could just be having one of her womanly weeks and was a bit snippy.

Now those grumpy occasions did happen on occasion, and if that was the case he’d let her get her rest and wouldn’t bother her.

When he walked into the living room, Olivia looked up at him from the floor. Her papers for school all scattered around her. “Did Mom go to bed?”

“Yeah, she’s…” he trailed off and reached up, running a hand through his hair before he settled on, “tired.”

His fourteen-year-old daughter nodded, accepted the answer without question. “Well, I’m going to go upstairs and type this book report up and go to bed.” She took the papers and her books from the floor and stood. With her arms full, she went over and leaned into him, and he wrapped his arms around her, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. “Night, Daddy.”

“Good night, sweetheart,” he replied. Then, looking over at his son, said, “Looks like it’s you and me. We have the television to ourselves, what do you think we should watch?”

Roland’s face scrunched up in thought a moment before it brightened, and suggested, “Star Wars?”

He chuckled and headed over to the cabinet where they kept all their Blu-rays. It would be a father-son night, though he doubted his son would make it through the entire movie as late as it was. Kneeling, Robin spied the series and asked, “Which one?”

“Umm,” Roland began, “The one with the Ewoks?”

“The Return of The Jedi?”

“Yeah!”

He nodded once and took the case from the shelf. “Excellent choice.”

* * *

 

Once Robin had closed the door behind him, Regina let the rest of her tears fall. She cried until she had to turn over her pillow from the wetness. The anger she’d felt evaporated with the click of the door, remorse taking its place. She would have called him back, would have told him she was sorry for the way she was acting, but she wanted a little bit more time to think and to get her emotions under control before she told him.

Turning on her back, she wiped away the last of her tears and stared up at the ceiling for a long while her hand trailed down over her belly.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to her child, taking back every thought, every negative emotion. They weren’t ready but they would be. Nothing about her life had ever gone to plan. If it had, she wouldn’t have Olivia or Robin… Roland or Madelyn. Her husband and her children were her world, her future, and having one more, well that would only make it better.

And it was with that thought, Regina closed her eyes and imagined their life, her work, and kids with a new baby.

* * *

 

Regina didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she felt Robin’s arm around her as he got into bed, and without thinking, without really considering that she should probably wake up a little bit more, she whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

His hand on her stomach stilled as did his lips on her cheek for a moment, then she felt his fingers splay against her belly, and it was all she could do to keep herself from crying when he said, “Say that again?”

She turned in his arms. She had to see the look in his eyes, before she repeated, “I’m pregnant.”

Even in the darkness of their room, she saw it the instant her words sunk in, and her brow furrowed when he let his weight fall back away from her so he was on his back. Robin’s chest shook and he ran his hand over his face as he said, “Oh, Christ, love, is that what all this has been about?”

She rose up on her elbow. Was he actually laughing? “Yes.”

He groaned and turned back toward her with a wide, wide smile that warmed her heart despite her annoyance. “Good God, way to scare a man. I thought I’d done something.”

She sat up, and with an indignant huff, accused, “You did do something!”

He sat up too and challenged, “Well, forgive me, but I thought you were on the pill!”

“I am!” she countered, then frowned, her brow furrowing as she stumbled, “Or I was…” and then with her ire back, drawled a sarcastic, “I’m not after today.”

He took her hands then, and damn him, he was _grinning_ at her. None of the heat in his tone had been real. He was just mirroring her own because clearly he thought her being pregnant was all so amusing. And before she knew it another wash of emotion poured over her, something akin to relief that he was happy and without doubt and suddenly she was crying… _again_. Big, fat ugly tears she had no control of into her hands that she took back from him a moment before she felt him pull her into his arms.

She felt the rise and fall of his chest as he sighed, then in a less amused but more considerate tone said, “Oh darling, you’re not happy.”

“No, that’s not it,” she replied immediately, and pulled away because it _really_ wasn’t the baby. It was the timing and the surprise of it all. “I am, I’m just… I wasn’t expecting this now. Maddie just got out of diapers. We just started getting a full night sleep again. Time to ourselves…”

“I know, love.” He took her face between his palms and kissed her brow. “It’ll be alright. This next one, she’ll sleep straight through the night.”

Her eyes filled with tears once again but for a new reason this time. Her lips pulled up. “She again, huh?”

His thumbs brushed away the wetness from her cheeks right before he leaned in and brushed his lips gently against hers. Pulling away only enough to look into her eyes, he said, “Guarantee it. Roland and I are already prepared for it. All you Locksley ladies up against him and me.”

“You’re really happy?” she asked.

He reached up and swept a lock of hair away from her brow and behind her ear. “My darling, I’m ecstatic.” His brow fell softly against hers, and she reached up and took his hand placing it on her belly.

Her fingers threaded with his. “We’re having a baby,” she breathed and smiled at his, _That we are_.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave your own prompt in the comments and I'll add it to my list!


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